While most people across the Flathead Valley are looking for ways to escape the heat, cherries along the lake are soaking up the sun. And that is fine by Sandra Kuntz.
“It has been the perfect weather,” said Kuntz, who owns 400 cherry trees near Yellow Bay with her husband Frank. “All the things that could go wrong, haven’t, and all the things that could go right, have.”
A good cherry harvest is expected all along Flathead Lake this summer, thanks to a wet spring and what is turning out to be a hot summer. Last year, cherry growers brought in 2.5 million pounds of produce. Dale Nelson, president of the Flathead Cherry Growers Association, is hoping for about 3 million pounds this summer. That will depend on what the weather does over the next few weeks.
While rain is good for the cherries early on, if inclement weather arrives after the harvest has ripened – which is expected to be about July 20 – water could drip down the stem and split the cherry. Nelson said if there is a significant rainstorm along the lake, the cooperative has two helicopters at the ready to fly around and dry off fields.
Nelson said the area along Flathead Lake, specifically the east side, has a very consistent climate for cherry growing. During the winter, it tends to be a few degrees warmer that other parts of the region and during the summer it’s a little cooler. He also said the cherries get ripe later than those in Washington and Oregon, and so by late July and early August “we’re the only game in town.”
Flathead cherries will also be available in local grocery stores this year, thanks to a program started by the cooperative in 2011. During previous years, local cherries were distributed by Washington-based Monson Fruit Company and Domax Inc., which could only get the product to larger retailers. In 2011, Charlie’s Produce out of Spokane also began distributing Flathead cherries to smaller grocery stores in Montana, Wyoming, North Dakota, South Dakota and Idaho. Nelson said the program was a success and this year 40 more stores will be selling local cherries.
“This program will just get bigger and bigger every year as more people hear about it,” he said.
But for those who want to get their cherries right from the source, many growers will be manning small stands to sell the cherries that aren’t boxed up and sent to distributors.
“As soon as we have a ripe cherry we will open the stand,” Kuntz said.
Kuntz’s cherry stand is located right along Highway 35, a half mile north of Yellow Bay. For more information about cherry stands along the lake, check out the Flathead Lake Cherry Growers website at www.montanacherries.com.